1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a position adjusting device for a movable anchor latch mechanism in an automatic seat belt system, and specifically to a position adjusting device in which a movable anchor is automatically released from the latch mechanism upon positional adjustment of the latch mechanism, whereby the positional adjustment of the latch mechanism is facilitated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are conventionally known seat belt systems in which a movable anchor is brought respectively to an occupant releasing position and an occupant restraining position in response to each opening and closing of an associated door and the movable anchor is latched by a latch mechanism at the occupant restraining position. In such known devices, the following problems however arise if a position adjusting device is provided for the movable anchor latch mechanism in order to adjust the fixed position of the latch mechanism and hence to adjust the occupant restraining position at which the movable anchor is latched by the latch mechanism.
If a positional adjustment is attempted while the movable anchor is at the occupant restraining position, the operation of the positional adjustment encounters extreme difficulties since the latch mechanism and movable anchor are connected to each other and not only the movable anchor but also a wire or tape for driving the movable anchor and a drive shaft of a motor for driving the wire or tape, etc. must also be moved along with the latch mechanism. In order to adjust the occupant restraining position of the movable anchor to avoid the above-mentioned difficulties, it may be contemplated to open the door in advance so as to actuate a drive means composed of the motor, etc. and to release the movable anchor from the occupant releasing position, followed by an adjustment of the fixed position of the latch mechanism. This method however requires opening and closing of the door upon every positional adjustment and is hence extremely irksome. Further, it is extremely dangerous to open the door in the above-described manner while the vehicle is driven or is stopped at a stop signal. As a matter of fact, it is extremely difficult to adjust the position of the latch mechanism once the vehicle is started.